led me to the discovery of twenty fine websites based on content, structure, visual design, functionality, interactivity, authority, and depth. I began with ESPN, widely considered the best source for sports news. It is a beautifully designed site, functions smoothly, and allows the visitor to easily interact with the contributors of the site. However, it is only useful for surface level stories, and as such, is generally beneficial solely for a quick search. I then unearthed several key organizations and associations that pertain directly to a few of the key international aspects of my entries, such as UEFA (European Soccer League), FIBA (International Basketball Federation, pictured right), and the IOC (International Olympic Committee). I found each of these sites to be authoritative, extremely well organized, and navigable, while effectively attaching both audio and video clips. They are, however, prone to become cluttered with small blurbs regarding scores of games rather than with in-depth news stories. Similarly, the ICC (International Cricket Council) suffers from the same flaw, although easy access to its news archives allows the visitor to quickly uncover relevant information. The final two international organizations that I linked to, the Institute for International Sport and the General Association of International Sport Federations, are both helpful sites, specifically by exploring a wide variety of content. However, like many of the other organizations and associations, they demonstrate very little interactivity and are often muddled by news stories that are consumed by insignificant updates and announcements.As noted, organizations are often restricted by their intent to serve merely as a reference website than a vibrant news site; thus, their limited interactivity and content is unsurprising. In contrast, World News Network Sports serves nearly all of the criteria for an effective site. It has a massive breadth and depth of content, is easy to navigate, and is visually appealing. It is particularly applicable because of its links to an assortment of sports and non-sports sites, and even exhibits a feature that allows the visitor to submit his/her own videos or photos. An offset of this site, Africa Sports News, reveals a similar interface and expresses more in-depth news, making it a useful source that was helpful to me in my first post concerning exploitation in African soccer. Also beneficial to my initial entry was the World Cup 2010 South Africa site, which is not only visually pleasing, but produces various tidbits of soccer information that frequently explore the off-the-field aspect of the game, which is of precise importance to my blog. Another site that attacks a specific to one aspect of international sports is Light the Torch, a blog that is devoted to all Olympics, all the time. Light the Torch is a masterful production of posts that concern Olympic issues instead of simply Olympic results. It is also easy to locate past entries as well as relevant links to other reputable sites. However, the blog is also littered with advertisements that visually offset many of its positive features. The well-renowned International Herald Tribune's Sports Blog is also organized nicely, and supplies a broader view of the sporting world, however, it focuses distinctly on the sports-related news stories, and exhibits little regard for international significance. The Tribune could take some lessons from PRI's The World Global Sports Blog, which effectively provides international stories, from soccer in China to rugby in South Africa. Yet, for all of its valuable content, it is visually quite bare, doing little to entice the visitor to explore the site. Similarly, the Globetrotting Blog benefits from the outstanding reputation of its author, Philip Hersh from the Chicago Tribune, who has been recognized as one of one hundred most influential people in world sports. As a result, his contributions are lively and significant, although, like PRI's blog, the Globetrotting Blog suffers from a lack of visual aid, and an uninspiring interface.
The most significant flaw in almost all of the links mentioned thus far is the lack of depth. In other words, most of the previous sources concentrate directly sports, albeit internationally. With the next several links, however, I aim to present sources that investigate the various aspects of international sports, such as sports law and sports business (pictured left). Globalex, an NYU Law-based guide to international sports law, efficiently illuminates the legal aspect of sports, although it offers zero interactivity, and fails to provide updated information at all. A more effective site, the Sports Law Blog, offers views from several knowledgeable contributors and offers new entries almost daily. It is not the most visually appealing site, but it is structured nicely and is quite easy to navigate. Another blog, titled Money Players, appeals to the business side of sports, from high school to the professional leagues. Unfortunately, it is rarely updated, and often goes off subject, although it occasionally posts further links to other sites that are generally helpful. Along the same lines, the Blog of Sports Business is well organized, despite its complete lack of visual aids, such as photos or videos. Yet again, this blog also suffers from a deficiency of new entries; the site indicates it returned from a hiatus on October 9, just five days ago. Perhaps the most noteworthy sports business site is Sports Business International, which delves into the international aspect while demonstrating a visually pleasing interface and attaching relevant news stories, updated daily. Indeed, the lack of an outlet for participation on the site is its only notable flaw. Finally, I linked to the Elias Sports Bureau, which is the most highly-regarded sports records site on the Web. This site is for reference only, and is not a news outlet in any way. Nevertheless, it is a very useful tool for those who wish to learn more about a player or a team that is part of the topic of discussion, specifically in regards to statistics. Certainly, these are only some of the incredible resources on the Web, but I believe that these twenty are extremely valuable, and will be beneficial to anyone interested in international sports.
1 comment:
I think that this was perhaps the most challenging post thus far because it demanded the writer present a great deal of information within a relatively small amount of space. You met this challenge and did an excellent job engaging the reader. It is much more difficult than one would expect to make a list of links interesting to readers of all backgrounds, but your tone and writing style made your post easy to read and very informative.
Your introductory paragraph was immediately engaging and you grounded your post by providing a a reason for your current exploration of the web. I especially liked the way you organized your links into managable groups and explained each strength and weakness in the context of the other links within the group.
It was very difficult for me to critique your blog because I think your writing style and tone are outstanding. Thus, I have one minor comment: As a person unfamiliar with the sports industry, I think I might have liked more concrete examples of what you mean by “reputable sites” or “sites that are generally helpful.” What, in the context of the sports industry, denotes a solid blog/website? Similarly, I would have liked you to expand your praise and criticisms just a little bit. For example, when you say “it is not the most visually appealing site…” what does that mean to you? Is it too cluttered? Do you dislike the colors? Generally I agree with your broad critique regarding the esteem, presentation, and interactivity of the items you added to your linkroll this week, but this is your blog and you’re the expert here– what aspects specifically did you like or dislike and why? If some site is lacking in information, why is the information they’re lacking essential to provide?
Ultimately, as I said before, I think your post this week was wonderful. It’s extremely difficult to present your opinion on a site in the space of a mere two sentences, but I think that for the most part you were successful in doing so. I really enjoyed reading this post and I look forward to your future entries!
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